Microcitrus
| Microcitrus | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Microcitrus | ||||||||||||
| Swingle |
Microcitrus is agenusclosely related to the citrus plants ( Citrus ) of the rue plants (Rutaceae), the best-known species of which are Microcitrus australis (Planch.) Swingle and Microcitrus australasica (F. Muell.) Swingle .
origin
Of the seven known Microcitrus species, five are native to Australia ( Queensland and New South Wales ), the other two, Microcitrus warburgiana and Microcitrus papuana , in southeastern New Guinea .
description
Microcitrus australis and Microcitrus australasica are semi-arid shrubs found in the arid zones of Australia. The leaves of Microcitrus are dimorphic; H. the leaf of the youth form differs from the leaf form of adult, mature plants:
First of all, narrow, needle-shaped leaves are formed in seedlings, and in some species also elliptical, which later change to the normal shape with strongly protruding leaf veins, very short stems and mostly rounded leaf tips. Leaf size depending on the species 1.5 × 2.5 cm to 2 × 4 cm, diamond-shaped with a strongly protruding central vein. Mostly without oil cells.
As with Eremocitrus glauca , the flowers are very small, four to five-fold, with four to eight segments in the ovary .
Depending on the type, the fruits are round to cylindrical, sour and often with an unpleasant, turpentine-like oil in the center. The seeds are small.
The genus is closely related to Eremocitrus glauca , which also has a juvenile leaf form and free-standing stamens.
Special: There is a purple-peeled, pink-red fleshy, naturally occurring variant of the finger lime, Microcitrus australasica var. Sanguinea .
use
Wild form that is only used for cross-breeding attempts.
species
The five Australian species:
- Microcitrus australasica (F.Muell.) Swingle
- Microcitrus australis (Planchon) Swingle
- Microcitrus garrawayae (FMBailey) Swingle
- Microcitrus inodora (Bailey) Swingle
- Microcitrus maideniana (Domin) Swingle
The two species from New Guinea :
- Microcitrus papuana Winters (Syn .: Citrus wintersii Mabb. )
- Microcitrus warburgiana (FMBailey) Tanaka
Hybrids
Within the genus:
- Sydney Hybrid ( Microcitrus x virgata ) Mabb. = ( Microcitrus australis × Microcitrus australasica )
With other genera:
- Australian Blood ( Microcitrus australasica var. Sanguinea x Citrus reticulata 'Ellendale')
- Australian Sunrise ( Microcitrus x oliveri ) Mabb. = ( Microcitrus australasica x Fortunella spec. X Citrofortunella microcarpa )
